KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For one in every 1,461 people, their actual birthdays happen every four years on leap day. It is very unusual to have a leap day birthday. In fact, only 0.07% of the population was born on February 29. One of those people is Brenda Maupin.
Maupin loves to collect frogs.
"Every frog I find, I buy," Maupin confessed. "They are really hard to find and I only wear frog jewelry every four years."
Maupin collects the leaplings because she can relate to them. The West Knoxville resident turned 84 on Thursday but will be celebrating her 21st birthday.
Because she has only gotten to celebrate a handful of February 29s, Maupin says every leap birthday is a blast.
"There is dinner tonight and one the next night and one Saturday afternoon and one Sunday," she recalled. "I mean, I celebrate for a month and as long as I can."
Maupin said being born on Leap Day has its pros and cons. On one hand, people never forget to congratulate her on her birthday and she remembers what she has done for all of her leap birthdays.
"On my 16th birthday I remember driving a stick shift car with a clutch, which a lot of kids do not know what that is anymore, to get my driver's license," she added. "I remember my 8th birthday because my mother invited the whole town since there was not anyone else that had a birthday that day. For my 4th birthday, they did not do much because my dad was still away in World War II. They are special days and a lot of people cannot remember what they did all their birthdays."
On the flip side, being born on February 29 comes with its own set of issues as well.
"My driver's license made it difficult to buy wine because a lot of computers did not put in the 29th of February when they were checking their driver's license," she explained. "For airlines, I put in the 28th because some of those do not have the 29th."
But for her 21st birthday or her 84th, Maupin has one wish: to meet someone who shares a birthday with her.
"I have found four on Facebook that were born the same day: one in China, one in Mexico, one somewhere here in the United States," she mentioned. "But I have never been able to meet anybody that was born the same day."
So in the rare chance that any leap babies out there read this story, Maupin has one birthday message for you.
"Just enjoy it and hope you live 'till the next one," she jokingly said.
If you know or are a leap baby and would like to establish contact with Maupin, please email fgarcia@wbir.com.